README.md

Libertree

The Libertree Project is a community of people committed to empowering the
people of the world to do things on and with computers, without need for or
interference from big business, by way of providing software and other tools
which can be obtained, bought or built with minimal cost and effort.

Libertree is free, libre, open-source software which is intended to provide a
way for people to create their own social network. Libertree social networks
can be free from commercial influence and manifestation, such as behaviour
tracking, user profiling, advertising, data mining and analysis, and covert
information filtering.

The remainder of the documentation found in this repository refers to the
Libertree social network software, and not The Libertree Project as a whole,
unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Raison d'être

Why bother making another social network? What sets Libertree apart?

I created Libertree because I wanted a social network that was free from the
tentacles of commercial interests. In building and continuing to shape this
software, I also want to foster a great community, a place where people can
find a positive, friendly atmosphere, and also feel involved in its growth,
improvement and progress. In the Libertree community, I want people to
experience being listened to, talked with, and acknowledged when it comes to
using the software and being a part of the community. I want to make Libertree
into what people want it to be, something that makes them happy, that makes
their lives simpler, easier, better.

Reference Implementation

There are (will be) several implementations of the various components of
Libertree. The first implementation, the reference implementation, is
written in Ruby.

Requirements

A UNIX-compatible system (such as GNU/Linux or OSX)

PostgreSQL 8+

Ruby 1.9 or 2.0

GraphicsMagick (or ImageMagick)

git

Recommended

A web server or other proxy (such as Nginx or Apache)

memcache

Components

The components of Libertree are individual subprojects, each having its own
source code repository.

Servers:

libertree-backend-rb

libertree-frontend-ramaze

Libraries:

libertree-model-rb

libertree-client-rb

Database schema:

libertree-db

Installation

Refer to the INSTALLATION.md file.

Usage

Refer to the USAGE.md file for information on how to start the Libertree
services and how to maintain a Libertree server.